Suspended ceilings are usually made of a metal grid consisting of tracks in the form of longitudinal parallel runners spaced apart from one another at a desired distance and separated by cross members in a perpendicular fashion thereby creating a plurality of rectangular openings. In general, those rectangular openings are of standard sizes allowing the ventilation outlets and the lighting fixtures to be easily inserted among the ceiling panels.
Suspended ceilings have been mostly utilized in office buildings and in housing basements because of the handiness that such systems allow to repair and/or to modify the partition of the space. However, most development in suspended ceilings has been towards improving the convenience for offices, without any improvement to the visual aspect of the ceiling. Indeed, the typical ceiling panels are made of fibrous material with a flat bottom finish, which are inserted in the rectangular openings made of the metal grid. Such unappealing designs have restricted the installation of suspended ceilings in residential construction to the basement and hinder their distribution whenever an upscale finish is desired.
The use of tracks also increases labor and material costs and interferes with the overall esthetic look of the suspended ceiling.